Category: Sports

A year ago I attended my fiftieth class reunion, Billings Central Catholic High School, Billings, Montana. If you are anywhere close, or even if thirty years away, my advice would be don’t bother. Two things were upsetting … the general level of intelligence is not indicative of fifty years of forward movement, and … I’ll be be delicate here, I won’t be cruel or crude … so many of the women and quite a few of the men too … have gotten really fat. A couple of girls I dated were there, and all I could think was “Phew! Dodged a bullet!”

But that is all cosmetic. It goes deeper. People and attitudes do not change. I was an outsider in high school, and fifty years later, I was still an outsider. That’s a two-edged sword: I would not belong to a club that would have me as a member, but I wanted, like everyone, to be accepted and admired. In high school I did not like being an outsider and took no pride in my status. That mindset, however, inability to blend into the group, has molded me into the person I am, gave me self-employment and a happy life. Two-edged sword indeed.

I did not watch the Saints/Rams game and so had not seen this play before today. It certainly adds fuel to the fire for those who think NFL games are fixed. This was blatant pass interference that the whole viewing audience saw. (Click on the “Watch on YouTube”link to see it.)

A reader suggested that I take a look at Charlie Sheen as being a Matt Damon Batch member, and I didn’t have to look long. There are certain characteristics that immediately jump out at me, among them the part on the left side of the head, the square jaw, and what has to be considered ruggedly handsome features of leading man quality.

I am a sort-of baseball fan, one who used to be a real fan. The team I chose to brand on was the Cincinnati Reds. They are falling off the map. If the Major Leagues were formed today, that city would have, at best, a AAA franchise.

The Atlanta Braves inspired a bumper sticker years ago that said “Bring professional baseball to Atlanta.” Cincinnati now inspires such a sentiment. Its teams have been moribund, dreadful, boring, its managers uninspired and behind the times. The reason, I am told, or at least assume, is that this is a small market team doing all it can afford to do.

So this article by Steve Mancuso opened my eyes. Starting with the assumption that the Reds have to trade some viable young prospects in lieu of paying outright for proven talent, Mancuso took me on a ride.

Note to readers: After receiving the video from Kevin* today of Barbara Walters’ first appearance on the Today Show in the 1960s, I slowly came to realize I had much of that scam wrong. While Pamela Courson did indeed become Walters, in my view, what I thought were surviving photos of the original Walters were in fact, again, Courson.

*To be clear, though Kevin supplied the video, he does not see what I see in it, and is not on board with my conclusions.

So I have more work to do – it appears at this writing that the entire Internet has been scrubbed of photos of the original Walters, but that is the work that now lies ahead of me – to see if any survived. Just as an example, the photo to the left here, which I took to be the original Walters, is actually Pam Courson in a 60s wig and done in black and white. It was said to have been shot in 1960, but more like 1976. She will end up looking like the Walters we all know, shown on the right.

And, from Kevin’s video on the right here is the original Barbara Walters. Those with trained eyes should easily see that she looks nothing like the woman pictured above, and my work ahead will be to see if she looks anything at all like the Walters we came to know in the 80s and 90s. I doubt it. This is the woman who disappeared from view in 1976.

I don’t know if it is deliberate but Bill Belichick’s demeanor and dress remind me of the Emperor from Star Wars. It could be he is aware of this and likes such a negative image. It could be that the league promotes this image. Having an “Evil Empire” team is good for business. Baseball has done it with the Yankees for decades. It drives up ratings and attendance, as people want to see insult inflicted on teams that consistently win while theirs loses.

Baseball used to be considered that “national pastime,” but has been supplanted by football in the last few decades. Football easily lends itself to gambling. There are far fewer games and the results of those games, if deemed important, are easily controlled by referees and a few players and coaches under control of the league. Under orders, they can create illogical wins and losses.